'After these things, the Lord appointed other seventy
also, and sent them two and two before His face into
every city and place whither He Himself would come.
2. Therefore said He unto them, The harvest truly is
great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore
the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth
labourers into His harvest. 3. Go your ways: behold, I
send you forth as lambs among wolves. 4. Carry neither
purse, nor scrip, nor shoes; and salute no man by the
way. 5. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say,
Peace be to this house. 6. And if the son of peace be
there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall
turn to you again. 7. And in the same house remain,
eating and drinking such things as they give: for the
labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to
house. 8. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they
receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
9. And heal the sick that are therein; and say unto
them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. 10. But
into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you
not, go your ways out into the streets of the same,
and say, 11. Even the very dust of your city, which
cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you:
notwithstanding, be ye sure of this, that the kingdom
of God is come nigh unto you.... 17. And the seventy
returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils
are subject unto us through Thy name. 18. And He said
unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from
heaven. 19. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on
serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the
spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice,
because your names are written in heaven.'
--LUKE x. 1-11: 17-20.
The mission of the Seventy is clearly distinguished from and
contrasted with that of the Twelve by the word 'others' in verse 1,
which points back to Luke ix.1. The Twelve were prohibited from
going beyond Jews; the Seventy were under no such restriction, and
were probably sent to the half-Gentile districts on the east of
Jordan. The number of twelve had reference to the number of the
tribes; that of seventy may have referred to the number of the
elders, but it has also been suggested that its reference is to the
supposed number of the nations. The appointment of the Twelve was to
a permanent office; that of the Seventy to a transitory mission.
Much of the charge given to either is given to both, as is most
natural, since they had the same message, and both were sent to
prepare for Christ's personal ministry. But though the Seventy were
sent out but for a short time, permanent principles for the
guidance, not only of Christian workers, but of all Christian lives,
are embodied in the charge which they received.
We note, first, that all personal service should be preceded by
intense realisation of the immense field, and of the inadequacy, of
Christian effort, which vision will culminate in prayer for more
toilers to be 'sent forth.' The word implies a certain measure of
compulsion, for an overmastering impulse is always needed to
overcome human reluctance and laziness. No man has ever done large
service for God who has not felt that, like the prophet, he was laid
hold of by the Spirit, and borne away, whether he would or no. 'I
must speak,' is felt by every true messenger of God. The prayer was
answered by the sending of the pray-ers, as it often is. Note how
Jesus implies that He is Lord of the harvest, in that His sending
them is the answer to the petition. Note, too, the authority which
He claims to exercise supreme sovereignty over the lives of men. He
has the right to fling them into deadly peril for no other purpose
than to proclaim His name. Lambs, ringed round by wolves with white,
gleaming teeth, have little chance of life. Jesus gives His servants
full warning of dangers, and on the very warning builds an
exhortation to quiet confidence; for, if the sentence ends with
'lambs in the midst of wolves,' it begins with 'I send you forth,'
and that is enough, for He will defend them when He seeth the wolf
coming. Not only so, but He will also provide for all their needs,
so they want no baggage nor money, nor even a staff. A traveller
without any of these would be in poor case, but they are not to
carry such things, because they carry Jesus. He who sends them forth
goes with them whom He sends. Now, this precept, in its literal
form, was expressly abolished afterwards (Luke xxii. 36), but the
spirit of it is permanent. If Christ sends us, we may trust Him to
take care of us as long as we are on His errands.
Energetic pursuit of their work, unimpeded by distractions of social
intercourse, is meant by the prohibition of saluting by the way.
That does not mean churlish isolation, but any one who has ever seen
two Easterns 'saluting' knows what a long-drawn-out affair it is.
How far along the road one might have travelled while all that empty
ceremony was being got through! The time for salutations is when the
journey is over. They mean something then. The great effect of the
presence of Christ's servants should be to impart the peace which
they themselves possess. We should put reality into conventional
courtesies. All Christians are to be peacemakers in the deepest
sense, and especially in regard to men's relations with God. The
whole scope of our work may be summed up as being to proclaim and
bring peace with God, with ourselves, with all others, and with
circumstances. The universality of our message is implied in the
fact that the salutation is to be given in every house entered, and
without any inquiry whether a 'son of peace' is there. The reflex
blessedness of Christian effort is taught in the promise that the
peace, vainly wished for those who would not receive it, is not
wasted like spilt water, but comes back like a dove, to the hand of
its sender. If we do no other person good, we bless ourselves by all
work for others.
The injunctions as to conduct in the house or city that receives the
messengers carry two principles of wide application. First, they
demand clear disinterestedness and superiority to vulgar appetites.
Christ's servants are not to be fastidious as to their board and
lodging. They are not to make demands for more refined diet than
their hosts are accustomed to have, and they are not to shift their
quarters, though it were from a hovel to a palace. The suspicion
that a Christian worker is fond of good living and sensuous delights
robs his work of power. But the injunction teaches also that there
is no generosity in those who hear the message giving, and no
obligation laid on those who deliver it by their receiving, enough
to live and work on. The less we obviously look for, the more shall
we probably receive. A high-minded man need not scruple to take the
'hire'; a high-minded giver will not suppose that he has hired the
receiver to be his servant.
The double substance of the work is next briefly stated. The order
in which its two parts stands is remarkable, for the healing of the
sick is put first, and the proclamation of the nearness of the
kingdom second. Possibly the reason is that the power to heal was a
new gift. Its very priority in mention may imply that it was but a
means to an end, a part of the equipment for the true and proper
work of preaching the coming of the kingdom and its King. At all
events, let us learn that Jesus wills the continual combination of
regard to the bodily wants and sicknesses, and regard to the
spiritual needs of men.
The solemn instructions as to what was to be done in the case of
rejection breathe a spirit the reverse of sanguine. Jesus had no
illusions as to the acceptance of the message, and He will send no
man out to work hiding from him the difficulties and opposition
probably to be encountered. Much wisdom lies in deciding when a field
of labour or a method of work should be abandoned as hopeless--for
the present and for the individual worker, at all events. To do it
too soon is cowardice; to delay it too long is not admirable
perseverance, but blindness to plain providences. To shake off the
dust is equivalent to severing all connection. The messenger will
not bring away the least thing belonging to the city. But whatever
men's unbelief, it does not affect the fact, but it does affect
their relation to the fact. The gracious message was at first that
'the kingdom of God is come nigh _unto you_,' but the last
shape of it leaves out 'unto you': for rejection of the word cuts
off from beneficial share in the word, and the kingdom, when it
comes, has no blessing for the unbelieving soul.
The return of the Seventy soon followed their being sent forth. They
came back with a childish, surprised joy, and almost seem to have
thought that Jesus would be as much astonished and excited as they
were with the proof of the power of His name. They had found that
they could not only heal the sick, but cast out demons. Jesus'
answer is meant to quiet down their excitement by teaching them that
He had known what they were doing whilst they were doing it. When
did He behold Satan fall from heaven? The context seems to require
that it should be at the time when the Seventy were casting out
demons. The contest between the personal Source of evil and Jesus
was fought out by the principals, not by their subordinates, and it
is already victoriously decided in Christ's sight. Therefore, as the
sequel of His victory, He enlarges His gifts to His servants,
couching the charter in the words of a psalm (Ps. xci.). Nothing can
harm the servant without the leave of the Master, and if any evil
befall him in his work, the evil in the evil, the poison on the
arrow-head, will be wiped off and taken away. But great as are the
gifts to the faithful servant, they are less to be rejoiced in than
his personal inclusion among the citizens of heaven. Gifts and
powers are good, and may legitimately be rejoiced in; but to possess
eternal life, and to belong to the mother-city of us all, the New
Jerusalem, is better than all gifts and all powers.